U Bottle It pours heart and soul into home brew

Shop owner Gary Hails opens the door to a back room, exposing shelves full of wine bottles, glass carboys and brewing equipment.

He prepares to teach a home brew class by pouring guests, including his wife, Ann, samples of red table wine.

At U Bottle It, it's always 5 o'clock.

"We're all taste testers," Ann said. "It's one of the perks of working here."

The shop at 2230 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 150, offers a variety of beer brewing and winemaking ingredients and equipment, including 50 types of beer kits and 30 wine kits.

"I'm 66 years old. This is my retirement," Hails said. "I worked as a vice president in banking, and I always dealt with people who were unhappy. Here, everyone's happy and having a good time doing their hobby."

Brewing a typical batch of beer requires crushing barley malt and steeping it in hot water to convert the starches into sugar. After cooling it to about 68 degrees, yeast is added, and the mixture is left to ferment.

"Beer is an instant gratification because the fermentation process takes about two weeks," Hails said. "Then, if you're carbonating it naturally in a bottle, it takes about another two weeks. But if you're kegging it, it's only about a couple of days."

The concept of winemaking requires pitching yeast to grape juice and letting it ferment for about eight weeks. Depending on the wine, it may need to bottle-age for an additional six months to a year.

"Yeast is what does all the magic," he said. "You pitch yeast on barley tea, and you get beer; you pitch yeast on grape juice, and you get wine; you pitch yeast on apple juice, and you get cider."

In addition to the shop, Hails also offers all grain beer classes for $150, which includes use of equipment, ingredients and storage. Participants can also take a winemaking class, which also includes a kit, equipment and use of equipment, for $225 to $325.

"A 5-gallon batch of beer makes about 55 to 60 bottles of beer, and a 6-gallon batch of wine makes about 28 to 30 bottles of wine," Hails said. "Home brewing is one of the few hobbies that can save you money."

A Pennsylvania transplant, Hails' passion for home brewing sparked when his daughter bought a wine store in California.

"I started wondering if I could make my own wine, so I bought a kit and found out I could," he said. "From there, it was a natural step into beer."

Hails opened the shop in a 1,000-square-foot space in the same business complex, but within nine months, he moved to a 2,700-square-foot unit to incorporate home brew classes.

"Summers are typically slow months for home brewers because it's difficult to keep your home cool enough for fermentation," he said. "Since I have this cool room, I still do a lot of classes, and I rent out space if people need to store their own brews."

As he starts the class, Hails raises his wine glass in a quick toast.

"In home brewing, we'll be doing a lot of stirring, sprinkling and, of course, drinking," Hails said.

U Bottle It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Visit ubottleit.com or call 702-565-5040.